Las Flores

Compact-car-size boulder on the Tortugas Mountain's north side

Becca and I did another Saturday hike out of the Monte Vista area of Tortugas Mountain; the Sunset area was very crowded when we drove by.  There were only two vehicles in the parking lot on the east side, and only five there when we got back to our car.  We saw some outdoor enthusiasts, and even had an encounter with Jorge, a long-time mountain biker who we see fairly often, but it was decidedly less crowded where we were trekking.  The best surprise this morning was discovering Strawberry Hedgehog Cacti blossoming behind the mountain.  The flowers are out of this world.

I did that with a karate chop

House-size boulders on the northeast side

Sotol

Fuller picture of the Sotol

Come!

Getting behind the moountain

Purple Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrocentra)

Same flower a tad closer up

Here we go round the mountain

First Strawberry Hedgehog flower I've seen this spring

And another

Getting ready to climb that cliff

Can't wait until this blossom has company

Found these beauties on the west side of Tortugas

Closer look

A small Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus

Beautiful blossoms (Echinocereus enneacanthus)

So I can't get enough of these delicate flowers

Indulge me

Please bear with me

Green Stawberry Hedgehog Cactus

Chihuahuan Flax (Linum vernale)

Chihuahuan Flax

This almost looks like a Scaled Quail/Gambel's Quail hybrid

But I'm pretty sure it's a young male Gambel's Quail